Last night at dinner and this morning for breakfast, Guinness had his first raw food. It was mostly bone since we're starting very slowly. With the stomach issues we've had, I don't want to have a bigger problem from the raw. At each meal he had a chicken back, wing and I cut the breasts off the bone and boiled them for him. This morning, he got apple and carrot with it.

He wasn't to sure about the raw stuff at first and it amazed me how he's forgotten how to chew. He's just become so accustomed to kibble with a 1 crunch swallow, that when he had to chew the back and the wing to break the bones up, he couldn't figure out how to do it at first.

Anyway, all went well, he ate the cooked stuff first and this morning he ate some of the apple and carrot before he went for the raw. Tonight I'm going to give him a quarter and a back. That should be all he needs. He's pretty skinny because he never ate much of his kibble. We just got a basic allergy panel back on him expecting to find that he's allergic to chicken and turkey because of issues with kibble he used to eat, but to our delighted surprise, he has only a minor allergy to beef and none at all to chicken, turkey, pork or lamb. We've got an extended panel running now and I now expect to find that he's allergic to barley... which is also an ingredient in the food that we think he's allergic to. He had a big breakout from a reaction a couple weeks ago, so his face has hairless spots on it.

I have to be honest.. i'm a little scared of salmonella... not for him, but for us. How do the rest of you raw feeders deal with it. I plan on feeding him outside when it's not too hot or cold out and I was going to get some of that Clorox stuff that attaches to your hose end to spray down the area where he eats. But then there's his face... do you guys clean your dog's mouths after they eat? I'm afraid of cross-contamination. Also, do you stand by and watch the dogs eat? When he picks up a chicken wing or the entire back and gets the whole thing in his mouth, i'm afraid he's going to choke on it. I guess when I start on quarters and other proteins, they'll be bigger cuts, but i still expect that he's swallow as soon as he can get it in his mouth. If I cut them down though, he'll just swallow without chewing. I guess it takes time for him to learn how to eat this way?

Oh yay! Guiness looks like he's enjoying his new diet. : D I hope you guys see great results... I'm sure you will.

As far as cross-contamination, I usually feed the dogs outside, or on the patio if it's raining. When they're fed inside, they get muscle meat or pre-made in their bowls, and RMBs in their (bare) crate. I always wash my hands with soap before & after, wash their bowls with soap, and spray some bleach-based cleaner in their crate.